Naperville to get 2nd helping of McDonald's plans

City Council votes to hear revised draft for downtown restaurant

McDonald's wants to open its second restaurant in Naperville. (Charles A. Smith / For the Chicago Tribune)

McDonald'sgot its break from the Naperville City Council, which agreed to hear a revised plan for a restaurant near downtown.

Councilmen made it clear, however, that the company will have an uphill battle to win their support.

McDonald's went before the group in June hoping to gain approval for a restaurant on the southeast corner of Washington Street and Hillside Road. But councilmen unanimously rejected the plan citing traffic tie-ups at a busy intersection and concerns from neighbors who said they feared there would be more noise and lights if the restaurant were to stay open 24 hours as proposed.

"We realize that we have a serious burden to carry. We do not take that lightly," McDonald's attorney Henry Stillwell said Tuesday as he asked for the chance to revise the plans. "We recognize there were serious concerns that resulted in a resounding message delivered by this council on June 19. We believe we have the ability to at least closely examine potential solutions."

To begin with, Stillwell told the council the restaurant would not be open 24 hours. He didn't disclose what other changes he planned to bring forward.

Most councilmen said Tuesday they would be willing to give the company a chance to bring back revised plans.

"You and your team have done an admirable job of responding thus far. … I think you're entitled to have another swing at this thing," Councilman Steve Chirico said.

But he and others also expressed skepticism as to whether McDonald's could ease their concerns with revisions.

"There's a long laundry list of things that need to be addressed," Councilman Doug Krause said.

For Councilmen Bob Fieseler and Grant Wehrli, those issues are insurmountable. Both voted against reconsideration.

"I think it's dead from the starting blocks," Fieseler said. "Unless they're going to put like a little kiosk and work in a nice improvement to the Riverwalk … I don't know what we're doing here."

Stillwell told the council he will not waste its time if the company can't come up with a plan it thinks will be acceptable. The proposal will be back on the council's agenda next month.